‘A little less conversation, a little more action please’… After two days of talking it’s time to change pace and invite a new group of practitioner-students to carry on the discussions on their blogs. (Of course, conversation counts as action in our world). Here are some tips to get you started:
- Set up your blog. I recommend WordPress (though quite ‘techie’, it’s open source, industry standard and free); there’s a ready-made forum for your PR-focused WordPress blog at PR Blogs.org. From then on, it’s about content, conections and community:
- Content: Have any ideas in class sparked your interest? What are other PR bloggers writing about? What’s going on in the world? What have you been reading? So many questions… How will you write about it (short and frequent posts probably work better than long and occasional ones).
- Connections. Think link: is your blog a stepping stone to other sources and ideas? Are you begining to get noticed (inbound links, comments, RSS subscriptions)? Remember that Technorati authority will be one of the ways of evaluating your efforts.
- Community. Who cares? Diarists throughout history have been content to write for themselves (and occasionally for posterity). That’s a good start point. If what you write has some value to a handful of people whose commentary also interests you, then you will have developed a valuable community. Some blogs have a wider reach than newspapers; most are better for focusing on small, niche interests. Join PROpenMic and let this vibrant community of PR students, practitioners and faculty know about your blogs.
Some key guidelines. Get started before the end of October, and communicate your blog’s URL by the usual channels (email, social networks, class wiki page). You need to keep your blog running for three months: it will be formally assessed after the end of January 2009. My guidelines for PR student blogs may still help, though much has changed in the last two years.
PR Studies 
Hello Richard. Well, I’ve taken the leap and posted my first 300 words on WordPress this evening. I think the software will take some getting used to, but learning’s half the fun… Thanks for the giving me the push I needed!
Well done to Sarah for getting us started! I’ve just made an attempt too: deborahprblog@wordpress.com
Lots to learn
Hi Richard,
I think it is brilliant that you have blogging as part of the assessment process for your PR degree – it was definitely something myself and peers had suggested to our lecturers when leaving UCLan this summer.
It was interesting to see that even though social media was not really touched on during my course in a final year campaign planning project students had included elements off their own backs. Was good to see that they were obviously picking up the “social media” vibe through other sources.
However, as it’s only early days for me in this community it does sometimes feels like all the social media activities out there warrant a degree of their own!
Hi Richard,
I’m a third year PR student at Leeds Met and I’m on my placement year. I must admit my blogging dedication has been somewhat lacking in the last ten months and today I decided to start again.
Great to see that students at Leeds Met are still being encouraged to blog. It’s definitely becoming one of the best ways to get noticed.
Katie
Hello Richard
Innovative assessment. This means I will have to constantly research and read around information – something that we can always find a reason not to do! Thanks for a good couple of days – lots to consider and blog about!
Julie
Well done everyone for really getting stuck in. I’ve finally got sorted mine out …